There are more gambling systems devised to beat the roulette wheel than any other game.

A system may give you an edge, but don't expect to systematically play your way to riches off the casinos. For one thing, everything considered, it is a very difficult task. For another thing, it's unlikely that the casinos will sit back and do nothing about it.

Simply aiming to win to stay ahead at all times as a primary objective, even by a small margin, is a more realistic goal and a great achievement.

In a game of chance using a system is no guarantee of winning, but a well devised roulette system can streamline your losses, control your winnings and have a strategy that will give you an opportunity to be a winner.

Roulette systems that have a strategy to win most of the time but lose out overall, are not winning systems. A winning system is one with a strategy to make you win overall and keep you ahead at all times.

Tip: For an efficient betting strategy aim to win more money in fewer winning spins.

It has been shown time and again that roulette systems that rely on sequential or conditional probability have failed to produce successful results consistently. That is because, in practice, roulette is not a game of probability.

At roulette each spin is a new spin and the outcome is never determined by prior spins. Therefore the probability for a possible outcome is the same for each spin and a probability advantage cannot be generated.

For example:

Which outcome has a higher probability after eight successive Blacks, Black again or Red?

The probable answer is Red.

Wrong! After eight successive Blacks, a Black is as likely to come up as a Red. The roulette wheel has no memory and it does not keep record of previous results. This is what many gamblers find hard to believe. This misconception has been around for many years and will probably be around for as many more years. It is known as the gambler's fallacy.

Tip: If you are influenced by previous results, then learn to bet with the outcome and not against it. You will eventually realize that it makes no difference. If anything, the 'law of unequal distribution' will be on your side.

In theory, roulette may be looked at as a game of probability and that the casino advantage of 5.26% with a double zero wheel (2.7% with a single zero wheel) makes the player a definite loser. In practice, as far as the player is concerned, roulette is a game of luck and the player has a chance to win.

If you were to bet $5 on Black for 38 spins on a double zero wheel, in theory you would win and lose every other spin and after 38 spins (which is about an hour of play at a busy roulette table) you would lose $10 for twice the zero outcome.

In practice, during an hour of play, at some stage, if you were lucky you would be up and if you were unlucky you would be down by more than $10, and deciding when to quit will determine the amount of your winnings or losses.

Consider this:

If there was no casino advantage and you were paid 37 to 1 (36 to 1 for a single zero wheel) instead of 35 to 1 on numbers and didn't lose on the outside bets when the outcome was zero, during the past several times that you have played the roulette, would you now be even with your money? Chances are it would not make much difference. You would still be either winning or losing and by much more than 5.26%.

The reason is that at roulette by far the two major factors that determine how much you win or lose are:

Your luck on the day and

Deciding when is the best time to quit.

Therefore, for a roulette system to have a degree of success it has to be linked to luck and tell you exactly when to quit.

Tip: On a very bad day, no sum of wagering money or degree of skill will make you a winner. Don't persist. Cut your losses early.

Big tip: Don't challenge the mathematical advantage of the casino. You cannot eliminate or change it and you don't need to. It is not your adversary unless you choose to make it that way and you will lose - slowly but surely. It is relatively small considering the sums of money that can be won or lost in a very short space of time. Think of it as a necessary and acceptable contribution or a tax towards paying the cost of the gaming equipment and salaries of the casino personnel. Remember, you pay it if and when you win only. (See Roulette quiz.)

Additionally, a good system has to take into account other obscured but important advantages for both, the casino and the player. These are:

To the casino:

The player's natural greed for money

The player's lack of self-discipline and

Time (the longer you play the higher the chances that you hit a streak of bad luck and run out of money).

Tips:
1. Don't be greedy; if you lose what you have just won, you are.
2. Don't gamble more than your set limit.
3. Don't stay beyond what you have set out to do.

To the player:

You can choose when and where to bet

You can choose and vary the amount of your bet and

You decide when to quit.

Tips:
1. Play a few numbers, preferably winning numbers, every spin.
2. Increase your bet when you win and not when you lose.
3. Quit while ahead and limit your losses.

Now, if you agree to all that has been said so far and give it some thought, you could well apply a roulette strategy yourself that is linked to luck. Additionally, if you are able to weaken the above said 3 casino advantages (not easy) and make good use of the player's 3 advantages, chances are in the long run you will come out an overall winner. Or, ...